Kirinyaga residents lynch man they suspect of killing a watchman
The homestead was declared a crime scene following Mr Ndegwa's mysterious disappearance late last month and his son was treated as a prime suspect.
A prime suspect in the gruesome murder of a night watchman was lynched by residents of Mburi village in Kirinyaga County on Thursday, July 25.
Angry residents stormed the suspect's home at dawn, chased him out, hacked him to death and set his badly mutilated body on fire.
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The residents accused the suspect of killing the guard during the raid on Mburi Christian Comprehensive Primary School in Gichugu Constituency on Monday.
Residents said the suspect revealed the names of two of his accomplices before he breathed his last.
"We are also looking for the other two suspects so that we can teach them a lesson," one of the residents said. Residents lamented the growing insecurity in the area and accused the police of sleeping on the job.
"Criminals have invaded our village and stolen bananas, avocados and chickens. They even killed an innocent watchman and our pleas to tame the criminals have fallen on deaf ears," said another resident.
Police arrived at the scene shortly after the fatal attack and took the remains of the suspect to the morgue at Kerugoya Referral Hospital.
The guard was found murdered in a classroom and pupils reporting for school in the morning hours stumbled upon the decomposing body of the guard, fled in panic and alerted the teachers.
The teachers then informed officers at the Kianyaga police station and took statements.
Moments later, the police drove to the scene and took the half-naked body of the deceased to the morgue of Kerugoya Referral Hospital for a post-mortem examination.
It is believed that the guard was fatally attacked by unknown assailants on Saturday, July 20, as his body had begun to decompose.
"A foul smell was emanating from the classroom where the guard's body was dumped and most likely the deceased was disposed of on Saturday and the attackers escaped unnoticed," said one of the residents, Ms Mary Wanja.
